The Problem: Missing Hours, Messy Payroll, and “Buddy Punching”
If your crews are still filling out paper timesheets or worse, texting hours to a foreman, your payroll team is spending hours every week chasing down missing info, correcting math, and reconciling mistakes.
Add in delays from manual data entry and the occasional “buddy punching” (when one employee clocks in for another), and you’ve got an expensive, inefficient payroll process that can drain profits.
The good news? Modern time tracking tools integrate directly with your payroll and accounting software, making the process accurate, fast, and virtually hands-free.
4 Steps to a Smarter Time Tracking & Payroll Workflow
1. Choose the Right Time Tracking Tool for Construction
Look for solutions designed for field-based teams:
- TSheets by QuickBooks, ClockShark, Connecteam, or Timecard (Procore) are popular in construction.
- Must-have features: GPS tracking, geofencing, photo clock-in, offline mode (for remote sites), and crew clock-in options.
Pro Tip: Use Geofencing prevents clock-ins unless employees are physically on the job site.
2. Set Up Job Codes and Cost Tracking
Before rolling out your system, work with payroll and operations to create standard job codes that match your cost codes in accounting:
- Example: 1010 = Excavation, 2030 = Framing, 3010 = Roofing
- Employees select the code when clocking in, so payroll data is already coded for job cost reports.
This eliminates the back-and-forth of “Which project was this for?” and gives you more accurate profitability tracking.
3. Integrate with Payroll & Accounting
Most modern time tracking apps integrate directly with QuickBooks, Sage, ADP, or Paychex.
This means:
- Hours flow automatically into payroll with no retyping.
- Overtime rules are applied automatically.
- Job cost reports in your ERP or accounting software update instantly.
Pro Tip: Test integrations in a sandbox environment first to make sure data is mapping correctly, especially if you have complex pay rates or union rules.
4. Train Your Team (and Enforce It)
Even the best system will fail if crews don’t use it consistently.
- Provide quick training at a toolbox talk or all-hands meeting.
- Post QR codes at job sites for easy app downloads.
- Designate a foreman or lead to review and approve daily hours before they sync to payroll.
Consistency here means payroll is accurate the first time; no chasing, no corrections, no rework.
Example: From Friday Night Chaos to Monday Morning Done
A subcontractor we worked with had their office manager spending 6+ hours every Friday chasing missing timesheets from foremen, then manually entering them into QuickBooks. Errors were common, and job cost reports were never up to date.
After moving to a custom time tracking app we developed for them with QuickBooks integration, the process went from Friday-night chaos to a Monday morning payroll approval. Overtime was calculated automatically, crews could only clock in on-site, and cost codes flowed directly into job reports.
Still collecting paper timesheets or chasing foremen for hours?
We can help you set up a time tracking and payroll integration that’s accurate, fast, and field-friendly. At Computer Dimensions, we help Arizona-based construction businesses take advantage of practical tech and improve jobsite productivity with personalized solutions.
Let’s talk. We’ll show you what makes sense, what to skip, and how to prepare your business for the next generation of tools. Let’s Build Smarter, Safer, and More Efficient Together.
Book a free jobsite productivity consultation and see how to save hours every week in payroll processing while getting more accurate job cost data.
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